[SatNews] NovelSat has unveiled FreeBand, a new solution that gives broadcasters free satellite bandwidth for video contribution—broadcasters who lease satellite bandwidth for their video distribution needs understand the costs connected with the space segment. Unfortunately, broadcasters also need to lease additional bandwidth every time they deploy a remote contribution unit, including DSNGs and flyaways.

With NovelSat FreeBand, broadcasters use the same bandwidth, transmitting at the same frequency, both to send video to the point-to-multipoint distribution network and to receive video from DSNGs and the like. In essence, with NovelSat FreeBand, broadcasters no longer have to pay for satellite bandwidth every time they deploy a remote contribution unit within the footprint of their satellite distribution network. This translates into huge savings in operational costs. If you consider that satellite bandwidth for a DSNG can typically cost $250 per hour or more, NovelSat FreeBand can pay for itself in a matter of weeks.

Another benefit of NovelSat FreeBand is unique to setting up a contribution site with a flyaway in a remote location. With NovelSat FreeBand, not only is the contribution bandwidth available at no additional cost, it is available without the hassle of having to coordinate satellite time and configuration details. That lets the remote team get up and running more quickly. NovelSat FreeBand is powered by NovelSat DUET™ band-reuse technology at the hub while remote terminals can work with both DVB-S2 and NovelSat NS3™ satellite transmission technologies. By transmitting well below the noise floor of the remote terminals, remote transmissions can be received by the NovelSat FreeBand modem at the hub without interfering with outbound video transmission to the distribution network. While the system can run on DVB-S2 technology, customers can optionally implement NovelSat NS3 to achieve up to 40% higher spectral efficiency.

NovelSat FreeBand causes no significant signal degradation and no additional delay to either downlink or uplink signals. In fact, when NovelSat NS3 is implemented in the NovelSat FreeBand modems, the signals benefit additionally from superior resilience to interference and jamming, weather fluctuations and phase noise. A prerequisite for NovelSat FreeBand is that the antenna at the distribution hub be larger than the remote antenna. For example, a 7m hub antenna with 2.4m remote antennas are supported along with wider antenna ratios.

“Although the technologies developed for the NovelSat FreeBand solution are sophisticated, this is an easy way for broadcasters to stop paying for extra bandwidth,” said Dan Peleg, NovelSat VP R&D. “For broadcasters using NovelSat satellite modems for video distribution, NovelSat FreeBand will be like cashing in a coupon for free bandwidth every time they deploy a DSNG or a flyaway.”

Together, NovelSat NS3 and NovelSat DUET technologies in the NovelSat FreeBand solution offer the world’s most robust, bandwidth efficient and most scalable satellite transmission technology, capable of delivering from 100Kbps up to 425Mbps in each direction on a single modem.

NovelSat will be presenting their technologies during NAB 2014 in Meeting room S218LMR in the upper South Hall.